Hyderabad: Telangana Voter Rights Forum (TVRF) has written an open letter to the Telangana BJP questioning its opposition to the state’s Family Register Certificate (FRC) and urging the party to clarify how poor, migrant and other vulnerable voters would establish eligibility during voter verification.Referring to reports that BJP leader Marri Shashidhar Reddy had written to the Election Commission against recognising the certificate, the forum said the document could help thousands who lack conventional identity records prescribed during electoral roll revision exercises.The forum said it has been documenting difficulties faced by citizens during the ongoing voter verification process and has consistently advocated acceptance of documents based on govt records. It welcomed the Telangana govt’s decision to issue FRCs, arguing that they would particularly benefit women, migrant workers, the urban poor and others who may not possess documents such as passports or other records sought for verification.TVRF noted that family identification systems based on govt databases already exist in BJP-ruled states such as Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Karnataka. It said the Telangana initiative was based on similar principles and could help ensure that eligible citizens are not excluded from electoral rolls.The forum also highlighted Hyderabad’s large migrant population and said many people who have lived and worked in the city for years, as well as women who relocated after marriage, may find it difficult to produce older family records. In such cases, the proposed certificate could serve as an important supporting document, it argued.In the letter, TVRF asked whether the BJP would ensure that no poor voter is removed from the rolls, how undocumented but eligible residents could prove their credentials, and why it was opposing a document that the forum said falls within Election Commission-approved categories for voter verification.The letter was signed by several academics, activists and civil society representatives associated with the forum.
